Shetron looks at buyout in Europe

To invest Rs 80 crore in Bangalore.

Shetron Ltd, a manufacturer of metal cans and ends for food and dry cell battery jackets/components, plans to grow inorganically. It is presently looking at an overseas acquisition to expand its business.

The company, which has a subsidiary in Belgium, has identified a few companies with a turnover of Euro 10-20 million in the metal can manufacturing segment for possible acquisition.

Diwakar S Shetty, chairman and managing director, Shetron Ltd, said, "We are looking at niche players in the business. At present, we are in talks with two companies with a product line that matches ours in Europe for acquisition. We hope to conclude the deal in the next six months."

The market for metal cans and other packaging products in Europe is over Euro 50 billion.

He said, the acquisition will be done through its subsidiary in Belgium, Shetron Sobemi Europe nv. The company is also exploring the possibilities of acquisitions in India.

"We have shortlisted some companies in India and hope to start a dialogue with them sometime this year," he said.

Shetron Ltd manufactures metal cans and lug caps (also known as twist-off caps) and closures for food processing sector, dry cell battery jackets and components at its two manufacturing plants at Bangalore and Mumbai respectively.

The company has also set up a production facility for lug caps and closures for the food industry at Bangalore at an investment of Rs 10 crore. It has formed an equal joint venture "" Shetron Metropak Private Ltd "" with Metropak A/S of Denmark, a subsidiary of the Euro 222-million Glud and Marstrand Group.

The facility has a production capacity of 100 million lug caps per annum.

Shetty said the company was also planning to invest an additional Rs 80 crore this year to set up a greenfield plant at Bangalore.

This will help the company enter the beverages segment with three-piece tin cans.

The company, which had a turnover of Rs 90 crore in fiscal 2006-07, is aiming at 30 per cent growth this year. It also plans to achieve a Rs 500 crore turnover in the next five years.